Gulam Bodi - South Africa - Batsman

Born in Hathuran, a village situated beside NH 8, about 42 km from Surat, India, Bodi migrated to South Africa to pursue his education when he was still a youth. A left-handed bat and part-time chinaman bowler, he established himself as regular for South Africa at various age cricket levels. He was part of Proteas' Under-19 team in 1999.

Bodi started his first-class cricket for the Lions. It was in 2007 where he was first noticed in the Pro20 and after encouraging shows with the bat for the Titans, he was included in the T20 World Championship squad but couldn't find a place in the XI.

The year continued to be auspicious for Bodi as he earned a place in the South Africa ODI squad for the series against Zimbabwe in August 2007. He smashed a fifty on his debut, however couldn't carry on his golden run which saw him getting dropped from the side. He went back to ply his trade in the domestic circuit and shot to prominence again with a terrific 2011/12 season where he finished as the second highest run-scorer.

In 2011, Bodi was rewarded with an IPL contract with the Delhi Daredevils and also traveled with the Lions squad for the Champions League in India later that year. In January 2016, it was found that Bodi was involved in match fixing in the Ram Slam T20 Challenge; the charges were proved and eventually he was banned for 20 years by Cricket South Africa.

By Sriram AS